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PORTARO was the name of a Portuguese 4WD offroad utility vehicle which was based on the earlier Romanian original ARO 24 Series 4X4 model produced under license in Portugal.[2][3] PORTARO 4WD models were made between 1975 until 1995.[citation needed] The PORTARO name was a portmanteau of "PORT" for "Portugal" and "ARO", the Romanian main manufacturer of original offroad vehicles.[2]
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Portaro headquarters in Tramagal in 2014 | |
| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975[1] |
| Founder | Hipólito Pires[1] José Megre[1] |
| Headquarters | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Products | Sport Utility Vehicles |
The PORTARO 4X4 was manufactured from imported original ARO original parts in CKD form produced in Romania destined for final assembly here by the SEMAL company in Setúbal, Portugal starting in 1975[4] by the entrepreneur and industrialist Hipólito Pires with help from a business partner José Megre[1] and a mechanical engineer Costa Freitas, all three quickly became business partners at the SEMAL Industrial Complex who started the PORTARO project shortly after. Their vehicle sold under the new brandname PORTARO became a very successful motorvehicle and was a much improved derivative version from the original ARO 240 4WD Series from the 1970s looking very similar in concept and style to the British worldwide famous Landrover 4WD but using an original Romanian cross country standard iron chassis and many parts, instead of industrial aluminium.
After the first original model called the PORTARO 240 2500 4X4 which was a very basic offroad vehicle much like an early 1970s Landrover 88D SWB 4X4 but powered by an original Daihatsu Diesel 2530cc 76bhp running gear sales were instant as there was no other new domestic rival at the time, save for the unique well known Landrover a brand name available for sale since the early 1960s in Portugal. The brand name PORTARO 4X4 appeared in 1975 and came in two main versions: The PORTARO 4X4 200 Series an offroad utility jeep and later in 1977 the PORTARO Campina 4X4 the 300 Series a very handy and useful offroad Pick up truck version both models enjoying healthy sales in the 1970s and the 1980s with hardly any equivalent rivals to match at their time with its own new original Model Range quickly being offered to potential plentiful owners.
Most of the PORTARO 4X4 vehicles produced were originally fitted with Daihatsu Diesel 2500cc and 2800cc engined 4WD models like the "240, 250, 260, 280" followed by the 4WD pick up models "Campina 280L, 320" and "350 Super". However in addition to several other new 4WD prototypes, two very interesting authentic PORTARO models were also manufactured this time powered by original Volvo Petol 2127cc and 2296cc powerful running gear similar to those used in the original Volvo 240 Series cars at the time, although these were always sold in much smaller numbers intended for general Motor Sports Events like local offroad motor racing and rally racing occurring frequently in the 1980s. By 1982 the SEMAL company were also assembling extra two more brand new PORTARO 4X4 versions made to order added to their Model Range at the time called the "210 PT TURBO 4WD" and "230 PV 4WD 2300" both are very rare petrol engined models that were much less popular though the lighter 230 PV 4WD soon turned into the most successful original Portuguese made vehicle ever used for offroad racing.
This is a complete list of all the original GV-SEMAL brand, makers of the TAGUS and the PORTARO Model Range of 4X4 vehicles manufactured 1975-1995 including the models later produced by the FMAT company.
(Made 1976 to about 1986 all based on the original Romanian ROCAR TV 4WD model all are fitted with the Daihatsu Diesel 2530cc 76 BHP engine around 5000 units were produced in total)
(From 1975 the original offroad models started production at the SEMAL factory in industrial Setubal later production moving northeast to the FMAT factory at Tramagal ending here in 1995)
Also at the large FMAT factory complex any potential customer to Special Order could choose the current original Daihatsu TURBODIESEL 2800cc 117 bhp running gear to be supplied to any of the then original PORTARO 280 4WD Series similar to those as used in the popular DAIHATSU Delta lorries, Rocky, Taft and Wildcat 4WD models.
By 1990 the original company who assembled PORTARO 4X4 offroad vehicles SEMAL sold the production rights, the tradename and all the spares parts stocks to the larger "FMAT" company at Tramagal an industrial town near Abrantes east of Lisbon next to the famous Tagus river in rural Santarem who have been making agricultural equipment and industrial machinery since the late 1890s. Motor vehicle assembly was to become an impoortant thing and the firm actually were assembling original French BERLIET lorries of many types in the 1950s until the 1980s a weekly operation at FMAT so output production had quadrupled than it was before making PORTARO brand name once more relaunched to the market after a brief absence but this time with a reduced upadated new PORTARO Model Range for the 1980s. This recently restored dark grey 1989 "PORTARO 280 DCM 2800 4WD Diesel" model is a nine seater and it was actually assembled at the wellknown FMAT Motor Vehicle Division manufacturing facility in the 1980s one of about 500 models produced there of the original PORTARO 280 Series this particular example is owned by the author of this PORTARO article and pages.
During the 1990s the Portuguese New Automobile Market the PORTARO brand name was facing a stiff competition with many other offroad vehicles and other 4WD manufacturers offering much better prices while others sold superior models too so their sales dwindled slightly and UMM 4X4 the other domestic manufacturer of similar nature were also facing similar situations but at least UMM brand name still sold well. Therefore the FMAT company decided at the time to reduce some of their original PORTARO model range due to the economical and financial unrest at the time of the 1990s in Europe particularly in Portugal but unfortunately most of the spare parts were nearly stocked out forcing FMAT to rebuild their own current PORTARO model range now fitting them with new modern updated FORD Transit TDI 2500cc 96BHP running gear with higher torque and more powerful engines needed for these large vehicles which became the later "PORTARO 250 FMAT ID 4X4", however sales took a downturn in about 1994 and to make matters worse the stocked ARO original spare parts were now running low too in the assembly workshops forcing to a reduced production run of the PORTARO brand so it was inevitable that FMAT could not handle this situation any longer and a year later by the Summer of 1995 this marked the end of the PORTARO Portuguese brand name thirty years after it arrived upon the scene in the automobile market always enjoying happy sales and with a remarkable automobile career.
Nowadays these classic PORTARO 4X4 vehicles are now very rare to find today even their own makers reported they assembled an average output of 2000 original PORTARO motorvehicles produced each year allowing to be exported to some European countries at the time in the 1980s but in present day they are now suddenly highly wanted and currently many 1970s/1980s models are preserved while others have been entirely rebuilt or are being restored to almost new condition making the unique historic PORTARO brandname still active somehow and at least their legacy lives on in its country, Portugal.
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